VII expands its roster of photographers
The VII Photo agency has invited two more photographers – Stefano de Luigi and Joceyln Bain Hogg - to join its VII Network for the distribution and resale of work.
The addition of de Luigi and Bain Hogg means that the VII Network programme – which promotes the work of talented non-members of the VII agency – now features nine photographers.
© Stefano de Luigi/VII
De Luigi is a regular contributor to many international magazines including Stern, Paris Match, Le Monde, Time, and The New Yorker. He is best known for his long-term projects, which include ‘PornoLand’ (winner of the Marco Basitanelli Prize in 2005) and ‘Blindness’, produced with support from the OMS Vision 2020 and the 2007 W.E. Smith Fellowship Grant and soon to be a book.
Bain Hogg began his career as a unit photographer on movie sets after studying Documentary Photography at Newport Art College. He shot publicity for the BBC, photographed fashion and now works on documentary projects and commercial and editorial assignments. His work has been seen in publications including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer, Elle, Marie Claire, Stern, GQ, Esquire, Le Monde and La Repubblica. Bain Hogg’s new book ‘Pleasure Island’, which documents youth culture in Ibiza, is set to be published during June 2008.
As well as the announcement of two new Network photographers VII has revealed that Benedicte Kurzen, Agnes Dherbeys, and Maciek Nabrdalik have become the first three photographers adopted by VII for its new Mentor Programme. The Mentor Programme is a new initiative that has been designed to provide professional development for emerging photographers who are regarded by the members of VII as the best new talents in photojournalism.
© Agnes Dherbeys/VII
VII’s Gary Knight and Christopher Morris will both mentor Kurzen and Dherbeys, whilst Antonin Kratochvil will be mentoring Maciek Nabrdalik. The mentors will work with the photographers for two years to develop field craft and to help broaden their professional world, such as building relationships with publishers and galleries. VII will represent their work during this period, after which they will be free to make relationships with agencies and clients of their choice.
VII co-founder Gary Knight explained: "VII is committed to excellence in every aspect of our work, which includes promoting the highest standards of photojournalism and visual story telling. It's a natural step to invest in tomorrow's talent. We have known Benedicte, Agnes, and Maciek for a number of years and have seen them start to make a great impact. We are confident that they will make valuable contributions to the industry for many years."
The VII Photo agency derives its name from the number of co-founding photojournalists who set it up back in September 2001.
